God's Veteran

God’s Veterans

Romans 3:23

In July of 1863, General Robert E. Lee's Army Of Northern Virginia of 75,000 men and the 97,000 man Union Army Of The Potomac under General George G. Meade met, by chance, at a place called Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

There at Gettysburg on 3 days in July, 1863, more men actually fought and more men died than in any other battle before or since on North American soil.

For three days of brutal fighting, there were over 172,000 troops bombarded and shot each other with over 634 cannon, firing an estimated 569 tons of ammunition and, when the battle had ended, there were over 8,000 dead soldiers, 5,000 dead horses, 27,000 wounded and over 11,000 captured or missing.

The war was to rage for two more terrible and tormenting years but the Confederacy never recovered from the losses of Gettysburg. And through the deepening twilight of Confederate military might, all who had been to Gettysburg would remember.

Four months later, on Nov. 19, the president was there to dedicate the cemetery.

Lincoln was crushed when he saw the carnage and heard the staggering numbers of dead and injured.

In his dedication speech, which begins with those immortal words… he said much that we can learn from today.

He starts with, “Four score… met on a battlefield of that war.”

Then he gets to the part I want to focus on today…

“We have come to dedicate…”

Today we are in much the same position as Lincoln… we have come here to recognize and thank our veterans.

But I feel like Lincoln... we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow THIS DAY…

You and I cannot make this day special, we cannot make their effort, their sacrifice special.

“Those brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have dedicated it far beyond our poor power to add or detract.”

Those veterans who have served in the American Revolution… the Civil War… WWI… WWII… Korean War… Vietnam War… Desert Storm… Operation Enduring Freedom… the Iraqi War… and the continuing War on Terrorism

Whether they were behind the lines… keeping up with supplies so that our soldiers on the front lines could be the best supplied, best equipped soldiers in the world

Whether they were behind the lines maintaining and repairing our equipment or flying above the lines to see that our soldiers on the ground were as safe as they could be in the hell we call war.

We owe our veterans more than we could ever say, more than we will ever know.

They left home, left their wives, husbands, children and parents

They trained and suffered, in the mud, the sweat, the pain and the loneliness so they could be prepared to serve their country

They did not do it for the money… when you’re in the foxhole being shelled by enemy aircraft, when you are shivering in the cold eating k-rations, when you are picking up what is left of your best friend who just drove over an IED… there is no amount of money that is worth it.

They sleep in trenches half filled with water… or under a Humvee to escape the scorching heat of the desert.

They do without… not just without the creature comforts they had at home… they do without food, without sleep.

They get up and go on when their body can hardly respond... they go on when it is hard, when it is dangerous, when there doesn’t seem to be any hope of success… but they go on

So how are we going to dedicate this day to them? How are we going to add one thing to their suffering, their sacrifice, their service?

Like Lincoln said… WE CAN’T

We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this day… those brave men and women who have served, who have sacrificed, who have given so much have already consecrated this day far beyond our poor power to do so.

Then what can we do?

Lincoln said it… It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion

Do you want to know how to thank a veteran?

1. STAND UP FOR OUR COUNTRY

Don’t let people trash it with their words.

Every time you trash our great nation, you dishonor, disgrace and degrade their service.

You spit on their sacrifice, their suffering, and their service.

Yes, our country has its problems… we’re not perfect… neither is our government

But we are the greatest democracy on earth, and democracy is the greatest form of government